Calls to prioritise animal welfare in an emergency
MEDIA RELEASE
Published on 20 May 2025.
Veterinarians are calling for new legislation to ensure animal welfare is integral to emergency planning, and that vets are recognised as a vital part of emergency response.
In a submission on the Emergency Management Bill currently before Parliament, the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) calls for stronger requirements for animal welfare to be considered as part of emergency planning, through developing secondary legislation.
NZVA Chief Executive Kevin Bryant says this is an opportunity to enshrine animal welfare and the support of veterinarians, veterinary nurses and technicians in legislation.
“This needs to be enforceable to ensure animal welfare is consistently considered during planning and requirements applied before and after an emergency.
“Ultimately, human and animal welfare are interdependent. We’ve seen pet owners stranded at home, unwilling to leave their pets behind, others illegally attempting to re-enter evacuation sites to rescue their animals and the grief and depression associated with pet abandonment.
“Furthermore, disease risk increases when pets are abandoned or left to roam, where they are more likely to encounter infected wildlife or unowned animals than they would if they were safely sheltered with their owners.”
NZVA is also recommending that veterinary services are funded as part of the emergency response.
“The reality is that the cost and risk of not having veterinary services in an emergency response is significantly higher than the cost of paying for these services.
“That’s measurable in multiple ways from biosecurity, loss of international market confidence, unnecessary injury or loss of animal life, increased insurance costs and human suffering over lost or abandoned pets.”
Mr Bryant says lessons were learnt during Cyclone Gabrielle and the North Island weather events in 2023 when veterinarians and their teams worked tirelessly at the frontline to provide shelter, water, food and care for animals and their owners – often without power, communications and in remote locations.
“In many cases they worked for free, especially where people were displaced from their homes. Many also had a sense that animal welfare is not prioritised and being treated as separate to human welfare, when in fact they are intertwined.”
For example, in the early stages of Cyclone Gabrielle Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) did not accept animal feed and supplies from veterinary clinics as critical supplies for isolated communities. This included refusing requests from veterinarians to deliver dry cow therapy to dairy farmers.
“Ensuring essential veterinary services are provided and that animals are considered in response and recovery planning means that communities and government can have confidence that animals as well as the wellbeing of their owners are looked after in the best way possible during a response.
“Funding vet services also creates the opportunity to ensure a coordinated, well-resourced team, including veterinary nurses and technicians, are available to meet the longer and ongoing diverse needs of affected animals.”
The NZVA is recommending that veterinary services are funded as part of the emergency response funding through CDEM and that an Animal Welfare Emergency Management (AWEM) Reimbursement Fund be established to enable AWEM support agencies to effectively deliver essential animal welfare services during emergencies and aid in the recovery process.
“A veterinary professional's role in the human-animal bond is to maximise the potential of this relationship between people and animals. Let’s ensure that is maintained in an emergency.”
The NZVA’s submission on the Government’s discussion document: Strengthening New Zealand’s emergency management legislation, can be viewed here https://nzva.org.nz/positions-advocacy/advocacy/consultation/submissions/
ENDS
For further information contact
Janice Rodenburg 021705301
